Superintendent Annette D. Knox said that while the numbers were alarming, they reflected a national trend among urban school districts.
The state average for ninth through 12th graders who drop out during a school year is 3 percent.
The numbers were only slightly better at Camden High School, which had a 36 percent dropout rate, compared with 14 percent in 1999-2000.
There was some good news for Camden, South Jersey's largest public school district. Its Brimm Medical Arts High School, a magnet school attracting top students, had only a 1 percent dropout rate.
High schools in the region with less than a 1 percent rate included West Deptford in Gloucester County, Cinnaminson and Burlington Township in Burlington County, and Cherry Hill East and Haddonfield in Camden County.
State Education Commissioner William L. Librera said he was not surprised that this year's report cards again showed a wide achievement gap between poor urban school districts and their suburban counterparts.
To help bridge the disparity, Librera announced yesterday that the state would increase funding in the 2002-03 school year for preschool programs in New Jersey's 30 special-needs districts, which include Camden, Gloucester City, Burlington City and Pemberton Township.
"Parity is a means to an end," Librera said. "The end result should be about achievement in all the districts in New Jersey."
Knox said the Camden district had recently implemented programs to stop the dropout trend. They include a "twilight" program for at-risk students, which offers small classes and allows students with jobs to choose a flexible schedule, she said.
"We continuously search for ways to keep them in school," Knox said yesterday. Camden High also has a full-time dropout-prevention officer.
